BOW WAVE 560

Bow Wave Issue 560--Silly Season Edition

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Wavy Line	sam@wavyline.com
(c)2010 WavyLine.com	Issue No 560 16 Aug 10
Published free of charge to Readers
Editor: Sam Ignarski
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In this issue:

1. Welcome
2. FOB Network
3. The Silly Season
4. Piracy Pickle Defined
5. Mumbai Casualty
6. And Finally...

1. Welcome

Poem of the Week

two nights before my 72nd birthday

sitting here on a boiling hot night while
drinking a bottle of cabernet sauvignon
after winning $232 at the track.
there's not much I can tell you except
if it weren't for my bad right leg
I don't feel much different than I did
30 or 40 years ago (except that
now I have more money and should be able
to afford a decent
burial). also,
I drive better automobiles and have
stopped carrying a
switchblade.
I am still looking for a hero, a role model,
but can't find one.
I am no more tolerant of Humanity
than I ever was.
I am not bored with myself and find
that I am the only one I can
turn to in time of
crisis.
I've been ready to die for decades and
I've been practicing, polishing up
for that end
but it's very
hot tonight
and I can think of little but
this fine cabernet,
that's gift enough for me.
sometimes I can't
believe I've come this far,
this has to be some kind of goddamned
miracle!
just another old guy
blinking at the forces,
smiling a little,
as the cities tremble and the left
hand rises,
clutching
something
real.

Charles Bukowski

Note from the Editor

Welcome dear Readers. This issue of Bow Wave finds your editor busy on the Isle of Wight, outdoors mostly, flailing at nettles and furiously pulling ragwort from baked earth.

It is at times like these when we should heed the words of the writer who features in this week's poem of the week, who said:-

"This is very important--to take leisure time. Pace is the essence. Without stopping entirely and doing nothing at all for great periods, you're gonna lose everything. Whether you're an actor, anything, a housewife--there has to be great pauses between highs, where you do nothing at all. You just lay on a bed and stare at the ceiling."

And, "The nine-to-five is one of the greatest atrocities sprung upon mankind. You give your life away to a function that doesn't interest you. This situation so repelled me that I was driven to drink, starvation, and mad females, simply as an alternative."

Our item 3 also refers.

Thank you kindly to those who have already signed up to our new FOB Network. I have no doubt that the Readers of this publication as a group have the makings of a very interesting conversation.

Enjoy!

2. FOB Network

Since the last edition of Bow Wave the number of people registering for our new FOB Network has increased to 416 individuals located in 41 countries, an early indicator of the global nature of our readership. When we began our research for this project, we were aware of a certain polarisation in the adoption and use of these kinds of networks. For the under 35s, networking sites are as ubiquitous in their lives as email. Yet in many firms, a block is placed on sites like Facebook, Plaxo, MySpace presumably to encourage employees to eschew resort to them during working hours. This may not be an entirely effect measure, if only because most modern mobile phones are very well adapted with applications designed to facilitate use of such sites. It seemed to us that a network based around a common area of interest and a common body of Readers might bridge a gap or two and also introduce on-line networking to some people who have up to now no experience of it.

In legal circles, there are concerns about the exposures and risks presented by online networking sites. According to research by Abbey Legal Protection, at least in the UK, social networking sites, like Facebook, are increasingly being used in the workplace, according to new research. The findings revealed that more than half (52%) of 25-34 year old workers and over three fifths (62%) of 18-24 year old workers have photos accessible for their colleagues to see on Facebook. In addition over half (58%) of UK CEO’s have a Facebook page. These legal insurers say the key to minimizing the minefields for businesses, is to have a clear policy in place that suits a gven organization. Firms should ensure employees are aware and familiar with it and make sure what is deemed inappropriate usage is understood. If firms have evidence to demonstrate that these measures have been taken, they will be in a much more secure position should they ever become the entangled in social media related legal wrangling.

In these early weeks, members are getting to know the design of the site and the tools that are placed at their disposal. For example a Rotterdam Rules Discussion Group has been set up, but it has a single posting, the recent article described below in item 2.

If you are thinking of joining FOB here are a few notes:-

Unregistered browsers of the internet are only able to see the Home Page. Members must invite or approve other members to become their contacts.

The most popular page is the People page--A picture and a few details about a member are much more attractive than an outline with a question mark in it. We are firmly discouraging anonymous registered names.

It is now possible to comment on any story appearing in the news section. Opinions are welcome.

The Blog spaces are the main workhorses of the network. Members should go ahead and post to them. You can always practise and then delete your efforts until you feel comfortable with the various steps involved. To attach a file, you must first create and save a headline., then go back to the item and attach a file.

FOB is aimed at the Readers of Bow Wave which which has appeared on a weekly basis for 11 years.It is free to individuals. Businesses can support the FOB project by taking out a business page for a nominal fee. This helps us keep ahead of the costs of programming and maintain our publications as going concerns. You are cordially invited to join.

http://www.fobnetworking.com

3. The Silly Season

Michael Quinion, the editor of the World Wide Words zine puts the time of year under his lexicographical microscope:-

FRIVOLOUS TIMES Mentioning "silly season" provoked me to look up where it comes from. As you may guess from its current circulation - the term is better known in Commonwealth countries than the US -it was a British invention. The Oxford English Dictionary cites it appearing first in the Saturday Review of London on 13 July 1861. I can find no earlier example. The Morning Chronicle referred to the term four days later, specifically mentioning the Saturday Review; six months later The Sheffield & Rotherham Independent likewise gave it as the source. Others followed. It would seem that it had indeed been created by a writer on that journal. It referred to the months of August and September, when Parliament and the law courts were on vacation and anybody of substance was away. (Today, the dates are variously specified to suit local conditions.) News was sparse and to fill their columns journalists were forced to feature less significant stories that they wouldn't bother with during the rest of the year. National papers suffered, but local ones starved, as was illustrated three years later:

The "silly season," as the Saturday Review calls it, is at its height. Enormous gooseberries and marvellous aerolites are in full force in local newspapers, and happy are the sub-editors who can "congratulate their worthy fellow-townsman, Mr. Such-a-One, on the beautiful effect produced in his back yard by the painting of his pump and water-butt."
[The Illustrated Times, Middlesex, 27 Aug. 1864. An aerolite is a meteorite made of stone; let us hope not too many were reported.]

http://www.worldwidewords.org/nl/nfpx.htm

4. Piracy Pickle Defined

A rather good article by Keith Johnson appears in the Wall Street Journal examining the definition of piracy, for the purposes of criminal law in the US. Somali pirates dragged to a federal court in Norfolk Virginia will put to the test the modern legal approach. The last conviction in the US for piracy according to Johnson was in 1861 and the defendants were running guns for the Confederacy. This pickle and the reluctance of national courts to hear piracy charges reminds us of the push-me-pull-you motions as between the marine, P&I and war risk insurance markets over who pays for loss or damage caused by piracy.

Read the article here:-

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703988304575413470900570834.html

5. Mumbai Casualty

A memorable summer casualty around Mumbai as the container ship MSC Chitra is in collision with the bulk carrier MV Khalijia III. The MSC ship leaks oil and sheds containers into the water. Smits are on for the salvage of the containers and the minimisation of oil loss. Another hit for the container underwriters loom--one of the worst risks these days comes from the high costs of salving containers over the side or to lighten stricken ships. Also arising the evergreen issue of the buoyancy of containers. Dry boxes, well sealed will float, reefer boxes, padded with expanded foam insulation will float forever and tanks containers are sort of vessels. My guru in these matters, one George Fawcett always reckoned that once a container is immersed in salt water it is a write off.

Will searching for a good reference on the Mumbai event, I ran accross a quite good blog called Safe Seas belonging to Alexandre Gonçalves da Rocha who is a 38-year-old Brazilian who has been working as a maritime pilot at the port of Itajai since 1998 who is also on the Brazilian Maritime Pilots’ Association Board of Directors. I was struck by the sane tone of voice prevailing throughout.

http://safewaters.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/maritime-lessons-from-mumbai-ship-collision/

6. And Finally...

Many thanks to Frazer Hunt for these puns for the aspiring classes:-

Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are in Seine.

A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.

Dijon vu - the same mustard as before.

Practice safe eating - always use condiments.

Shotgun wedding - a case of wife or death.

A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy.

A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play.

Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?

Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion.

Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.

When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.

A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired.

What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead give away.)

In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism your count votes.

She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off.

A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

If you don't pay your exorcist, you get repossessed

With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.

The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

Local Area Network in Australia - the LAN down under.

Every calendar's days are numbered.

A lot of money is tainted - taint yours and taint mine.

A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.

He had a photographic memory that was never developed.

A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.

Once you've seen one shopping centre, you've seen a mall.

Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.

Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.

Acupuncture is a jab well done.

P.S.

A fellow in a bar notices a woman, always alone, come in on a fairly regular basis. After the second week, he made his move. "No thank you." she said politely. "This may sound rather odd in this day and age, but I'm keeping myself pure until I meet the man I love." "That must be rather difficult." the man replied. "Oh, I don't mind too much." she said. "But, it has my husband pretty upset."

BOW WAVE is published each week to over 15 000 Readers in the transport,insurance,shipping and finance industries. It is free to Readers but you can support it as a going concern by subscribing as a business member to:-

http://www.fobnetworking.com

Thanks for reading BOW WAVE